I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Eunuch Hai did not continue to plead. Based on his understanding of Director-General, a promise to spare all his relatives was surely nothing but deceitful words.

On the other hand, agreeing to spare only one descendant offered a twenty to thirty percent chance of survival.

"Thank Director-General for sparing my life. Yu Er of Yecheng is intelligent and fond of reading. She dislikes swords and spears and may one day pass on our family through poetry and books. Let her continue my bloodline."

As Eunuch Hai spoke, he took out a book from inside his clothes. The cover bore no text.

"I agree," said Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi waved his hand to take the book and, upon opening it, indeed found the "Secret Technique of Extreme Yin Giving Birth to Yang," his face showing delight as he said, "A Martial Arts Grandmaster such as yourself leaves behind a seed of learning; without you, wouldn't your unique arts lack a successor?"

Eunuch Hai shook his head. "What I have learned all comes from the Scripture Pavilion; it can't be said to have ceased."

Of course, this was an excuse. If he had left behind a descendant skilled in martial arts, it might have caused the Director-General to feel threatened, leading to a swift execution.

"...Extremely cold harbors warmth, at the right time it can sprout... Extreme Yin must yield to Yang; Yin and Yang mutually root, this is the way of heaven and earth... Multiplicity arises from emptiness, emptiness gives rise to multiplicity..."

"The five viscera belong to Yin, rising with clarity and emptiness, suddenly opening the seven apertures, from which the divine radiance emerges..."

Zhou Yi recited softly, his True Qi naturally circulating, starting from his five viscera, passing through the seven apertures, up through Heaven's Gate, feeling a rise of cleansed Yang within him and a dispersal of murky Yin, alongside an itchy sensation of new flesh growing in his lower body.

Eunuch Hai sensed the change in the Director-General's aura and could not help but feel astonished.

"To attain such comprehension in a single thought, could there really be such a gifted individual in martial arts in this world?"

The "Secret Technique of Extreme Yin Giving Birth to Yang" was not a Cultivation Technique of martial arts, yet its depth and obscurity were even greater; it was a secret technique of flesh regeneration that Eunuch Hai had deduced from reading Buddhist and Taoist scriptures.

As its creator, Eunuch Hai himself had practiced it for more than ten years before he restored his masculinity.

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A long howl resounded through the streets, and Zhou Yi laughed loudly, his voice deep and rough.

This time, unlike in the past when he imitated the voice with True Qi, it was the true voice of a fully integrated and physically complete Hun Yuan, his speaking voice indistinguishable from that of a normal adult male.

Zhou Yi was indifferent to regaining a man's body; what truly delighted him was the breakthrough he had made in martial arts.

With Yin and Yang perfectly integrated, the energy of heaven and earth was within reach, the previously hazy and remote feeling gone, easily refined into True Qi.

Eunuch Hai bowed and said, "Congratulations, Director-General."

"Joy shared is joy doubled," replied Zhou Yi.

With a flick of his finger, Zhou Yi's Sword Qi pierced through Eunuch Hai's chest.

"I've changed my mind. I really will spare the life of Eunuch Hai's grandchild. If he passes the imperial examinations in the future, I will promote him."

...

The eleventh year of Emperor Pingkang's reign.

Winter.

Lu Cang, the Left General of the Capital Garrison, with the Commander of the Imperial Guard Wei Xian, in collusion with the Imperial Horse Supervisor Eunuch Cao, used the pretext of purifying the Emperor's side to lead troops into the palace.

Grand Tutor Zhou led his troops to quell the rebellion, executing the traitors Lu and Wei on the battlefield.

Emperor Pingkang was wounded in the conflict and died without recovering.

The eldest imperial son ascended to the throne and proclaimed the reign name of Emperor Long'an.

The following year.

Zhou Ping'an was ennobled as the King of Chu, granted the nine bestowments, and took charge of state affairs.

...

The sixth year of Emperor Long'an's reign.

Mountain of Eternal Life.

The eastern half of the mountain was lush with greenery, a winding path leading up through the forest to the top, where stood an ancient stone cottage. The western half was a sheer cliff, extending vertically from the mountain summit to the valley floor, as if cleaved by an axe.

Rumors from six years ago spoke of a rebellion in the capital, where five thousand elite Capital Garrison soldiers surrounded the Mountain of Eternal Life, intending to besiege the world's number one Martial Arts Grandmaster.

But before they even saw him, a brilliant sword light descended from the sky.

Like a waterfall, like a curtain, it seemed as though the Milky Way was pouring down, splitting the Mountain of Eternal Life in two.

The leader of the rebel forces died on the spot from shock, the rest either scattered in flee or knelt begging for mercy. From then on, the eastern side of the Mountain of Eternal Life became forbidden territory, while the fractured western half occasionally drew swordsmen from the Jiangnan to contemplate martial arts.

The power of the Zhou family grew day by day, even ennobling a civil official as a king, with no one in the Imperial Court daring to object.

On this day.

A ceremonial procession arrived at the foot of Mountain of Eternal Life, the influential King of Chu, who held sway over the court and the government, disembarked from his palanquin at the base of the mountain.

Having reached the waist of the mountain, Zhou Ping'an dismissed his attendants and continued ascending the mountain alone.

"Son pays his respects to father."

Zhou Ping'an waited quietly outside the stone hut for a moment, then, hearing an indifferent voice beside his ear, he bowed and walked to the back of the hut, where he saw his father, who still looked youthful, sitting cross-legged at the edge of a cliff, fishing.

Zhou Yi held a bamboo rod, casually snapped from a plant, with True Qi extending into a line, dropping from the mountaintop to the riverbed below.

"What brings you to our home?"

"Father, in a few days it will be your sixtieth birthday."

Zhou Ping'an said, "Your son has made preparations well in advance, collecting many martial arts classics and widely inviting strong martial artists to a banquet to showcase their skills, in order to organize an unparalleled birthday celebration for you."

"A cycle of sixty years, has it..."

Zhou Yi shook his head slightly, his gaze still on the fishing rod, "Sending the classics will suffice; I have no interest in a birthday banquet. As for the martial showcase... have there been any martial arts prodigies emerging in the Jianghu recently?"

In his earlier years, he was keen on banquets, enjoying the adulation and the sense of achievement from climbing to higher status.

Now, being unrivaled in the world and controlling imperial power as if it were in the palm of his hand, no amount of flattery could move Zhou Yi, naturally making banquets uninteresting to him.

Zhou Ping'an reported, "The Eastern Depot's secret agents have informed us that a young Sword God has emerged in Jiangnan, reaching the pinnacle of the Houtian stage by the age of twenty, rumored to have the stature of the second best in the world."

Since the Governor-General split a mountain with a single sword stroke, all martial artists take pride in claiming the title of second best in the world.

Zhou Yi instructed, "Keep a close watch on him."

"His entire family, the Nine Clans, are being watched by the Eastern Depot; if there's any unusual activity, it will certainly not escape father's notice," Zhou Ping'an replied, not understanding why his father was concerned with the younger generation in the Jianghu. The rise and fall of the Zhou family rested on him, so he simply did as he was told, pausing to think before continuing.

"Father, there is another matter your son wishes to report to you."

Zhou Yi glanced at him, his voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm, "With your procession, carriages, and golden palanquin, you are outdoing even the previous emperor. Could it be that Emperor Long'an is planning to abdicate his throne?"

The previous emperor he referred to is of course the Orthodox Emperor, and the subsequent emperors, the Governor-General never took seriously.

Emperor Long'an was only seven years old, naturally timid and weak, and ever since he became aware, he knew that his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather had all died unnaturally, often hiding in the Inner Palace, apprehensive to attend court.

Rumors among the common folk held that Emperor Long'an would seek diviners to foretell good or ill omens before attending court.

Timid as a mouse, he did not possess the bearing of a ruler.

Zhou Ping'an bowed and said, "His Majesty claims to be too young to handle state affairs and difficult in governing the land, furthermore he says that with the heaven and earth being just, one should follow the will of the people and abdicate in favor of Zhou!"

"The will of the people..."

Zhou Yi snorted coldly, "Which people's will?"

Zhou Ping'an replied, "The Three Departments and Six Ministries of the Imperial Court, the powerful families and sects within, and the commanders of the border army all believe His Majesty's words are justified!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Zhou Yi laughed oddly and said, "To our home, imperial power is but a trivial game in the eyes of the common folk. You want to be emperor, go ahead, but remember one thing at all times."

Zhou Ping'an suppressed the elation in his heart; as long as his father agreed, any opposition would be nothing more than insignificant insects. He knelt and bowed deeply.

"Please enlighten your son, father."

"When we were young, we couldn't afford to eat and had no choice but to sell ourselves into the palace."

Zhou Yi spoke solemnly, "Were we not among the people back then? Do we not have the final say in this world today? Remember, there will be those who come after us!"

"Your son bears it in mind."

Zhou Ping'an said, "After ascending to the throne, the state will be renamed Zhou, and I will honor father as the Martial God and Holy Ancestor, with statues and steles erected. The imperial succession will be decided by a single word from you."

"Father, may you live forever, everlasting and unaging, with the Imperial Court under your vigilant oversight. Should the future generations prove unworthy of the throne, then the Zhou dynasty could rule for ten thousand generations."

Zhou Yi asked, "Since when did I develop an interest in becoming emperor?"

Zhou Ping'an said, "The imperial throne was father's all along."

"Suit yourself, to me, being emperor isn't as interesting as fishing," Zhou Yi responded, feeling the fishing rod tremble, slowly retracted the True Qi line, and at the end, a golden-red carp, three feet long and plump, flapped and struggled.

A tremendous surge of True Qi flowed from his body, forming a river tens of feet long in the air, and with a flick of the rod, he tossed the carp back into the river.

The carp that had been fiercely struggling suddenly felt that it could breathe easily again. It swam joyfully in the river of True Qi, as if it truly lived in the water.

Seeing this wondrous scene, Zhou Ping'an's respect grew even deeper, and he bowed even lower.

"Such a realm in the martial path is beyond the grasp of the common man, indistinguishable from that of immortals!"